The Massachusetts Supreme Court will hear the White Stadium case

The legal battle over the controversial plan to redevelop White Stadium in Franklin Park is headed to the highest court in Massachusetts.

The plan, led by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, includes a public-private partnership between the city and Boston Legacy FC, a new professional women’s soccer team. Together, the city and the team are preparing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build a new, state-of-the-art stadium that will be used by both the football team and the students of the Boston Public Schools.

But opposition from some residents and others is fierce and persistent. The Emerald Green Necklace Conservancya local environmental nonprofit, and a group known as the Franklin Park Defenders are paramount. Opponents sued the city, arguing the project would violate state laws governing the use of public parks. After a lawsuit earlier this year, a Superior Court judge ruled in the city’s favor, allowing the project to proceed.

In October, opponents of the project filed a petition with the Massachusetts Appeals Court. The case was officially added to the docket of the Massachusetts Supreme Court on Wednesday. The Conservancy praised the development.

“We are encouraged by the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case, and we hope for a decision that upholds Massachusetts’s constitutional protections for public recreational lands and resources in all its many variations: in the heart of Boston and across the state,” Karen Mauney-Brodek, president of the conservation group, said in a statement.

Mauney-Brodek then advocated for a fully public version of the project, saying there is still time to find an alternative home for Boston Legacy FC. The project’s opponents unveiled an alternative, fully public plan for the White Stadium redevelopment over the summer, saying it would save the city millions while giving BPS students full access to the new stadium. Members of the Boston City Council and the local chapter of the NAACP later expressed support for a formal review of the alternative plan.

The Wu government has shown no interest in alternative plans at this stage. The city and the football team signed a ten-year lease in late 2024 and demolition work has already been completed. The city is now finalizing construction bids.

Construction will not be completed until March of next year, when Boston Legacy FC will play their debut match in the National Women’s Soccer League. The club announced it will instead play its entire first season at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

A spokesperson for the club says they are eagerly awaiting a ruling from the SJC.

“Students from the Boston Public Schools and the communities surrounding Franklin Park have long deserved this type of generational investment. We are proud to help deliver a modern venue for the entire city and remain confident in the court’s previous ruling in full support of the renovation of White Stadium. We look forward to the SJC’s final decision as construction continues,” the Boston Legacy FC spokesperson said in a statement.

The Wu government also welcomed the news.

“Boston Public Schools student-athletes have waited decades for this state-of-the-art reconstruction. We are pleased that the SJC will make a final ruling as our construction progresses,” a city spokesperson said in a statement.

The mayor has invested significant political capital in the project. Wu describes it as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to support student athletes while bringing in a private partner with enough pockets to help renovate the dilapidated facility.

Boston Legacy FC has the right to play up to 20 matches per year at White Stadium, but there are “strict parameters” for when these can take place. according to the city. More than 90% of the stadium’s “programmable hours” will be used by BPS students and community groups. Concerns about a loss of green space, major traffic and parking problems and a lack of public input are unfounded, the Wu government says.

Opponents say BPS students will still face significant disruptions, with football teams most affected. They are concerned about increased noise and light pollution, litter and a fundamental change in the historic character of Franklin Park.

They argue in court that the plan violates the Massachusetts Constitution, which requires the state Legislature to approve a change in the use of public parks and recreation areas.

“The Emerald Necklace Conservancy, along with a concerned group of community leaders, citizens and BPS parents, remains focused on protecting the Commonwealth’s public land protections, including the constitutional provision that states that only a two-thirds vote of the state legislature can eliminate constitutional protections of protected park and recreation land,” Mauney-Brodek said.

The city and Boston Legacy FC have agreed to split the cost of the project evenly, but estimates have risen significantly since the project was first unveiled. In the spring of 2024, the city set aside $50 million for half the construction costs. The city’s most recent official cost estimate came last December, with officials predicting a price tag of $91 million. According to the city, estimates have increased due to global factors affecting construction costs and because of plan changes spurred by community feedback.

Wu was hesitant to release an updated estimate this year, saying construction bids must be completed first. She has acknowledged that the costs are “probably” exceed the $91 million estimate, and said over the summer that an updated estimate would be released by the end of this year.

But now the Wu administration is indicating that an estimate won’t come until “early 2026,” he said The Boston Sphere. The city spent $12 million on demolition and construction work, according to officials Sphereand to date it has allocated $76 million to contractors.

Boston City Council members, even those who are generally supportive of the project, are frustrated by the lack of a new estimate. The body unanimously adopted a resolution last week demand more transparency.